Clenching press for the attachment of pronged devices, such as pronged garment fastening devices, to material



March 1, 1966 c. M. WILSON 3,237,832

GLENCHING PRESS FOR THE ATTACHMENT OF PRONGED DEVICES, SUCH AS PRONGED GARMENT FASTENING DEVICES Filed Nov. 26, 1963 TO MATERIAL 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 1, 1966 c. M. WILSON 3,237,832

CLENCHING PRESS FOR THE ATTACHMENT OF PRONGED DEVICES, sucn AS PRONGED GARMENT FASTENING DEVICES, TO MATERIAL Filed NOV. 26, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 CWQMM 8 March 1, 1966 c. M. WILSON 3,237,832

GLENGHING PRESS FOR THE ATTACHMENT OF PRONGED DEVICES, SUCH AS PRONGED GARMENT FASTENING DEVICES, TO MATERIAL Filed Nov. 26, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 C. M. ln/lson (filuuiwc A Horneys March 1, 1966 c. M. WILSON 3,237,832

CLENCHING PRESS FOR THE ATTACHMENT OF PRONGED DEVICES, SUCH AS PRONGED GARMENT FASTENING DEVICES, TO MATERIAL Filed Nov. 26, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 1 r F/G/Z T Q1 1 L; X111 4 X111 -,/43 Inventor I C. M. [4/11/50 n tiorn eys March 1, 1966 c. M. WILSON 3,237,832

CLENCHING PRESS FOR THE ATTACHMENT OF PRONGED DEVICES, SUCH AS PRONGED GARMENT FASTENING DEVICES, TO MATERIAL Filed Nov. 26, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 lnvenlor C M. WL 150/? QLLP itorneys United States Patent 0 3,237,832 CLENCHILJG PRESS FOR THE ATTACHMENT 0F PRGNGED DEVICES, SUCH AS PRQNGED GAR- MENT FASTENING DEVICES, T0 MATERIAL Clarence Martin Wilson, St. Pauls Square, Birmingham,

England, assignor to Thomas Walker Limited, Birmingham, England, a British company Filed Nov. 26, 1963', Ser. No. 326,067 3 Claims. (Cl. 227-117) This invention relates to clenching press machines for attaching pronged devices to material such as fabric or cloth, and it is especially applicable to clenching presses for attaching pronged fastening devices, such as pronged staples and hooks, to garment material. In such attachment operations, the prongs of the devices are caused to penetrate through the material and are clenched or bent over, usually against a backing plate on the underside.

Clenching press machines in accordance with this invention are equipped with means for loading automatically the pronged devices for each clenching operation; they may also be provided with feed means for automatically supplying complementary backing plates for each clenching operation.

According to the invention, a clenching press for attaching pronged devices to material comprises a carrier arm having a holder designed to carry a said pronged device, said carrier arm being pivotally mounted for angular movement in a vertical plane between a forwardly-extending operative clenching position in which it co-operates with an anvil for effecting the clenching operation and a rearwardly-displaced loading position, means for actuating the carrier arm to swing it forwardly and down to the operative clenching position from said loading position on its clenching stroke and to return it to said loading position at the completion of the clenching operation, loading means arranged to load automatically, from a continuous supply of the pronged devices the carrier arm holder between each clenching operation whilst the carrier arm is in its said loading position, and means for operating said loadingmeans in synchronism with the clenching strokes of the carrier arm.

The holder of the carrier arm may be in the form of a recess in the underside of the outer end portion thereof, said recess having a side opening through which the pronged devices are fed laterally in the loading operation. In the forwardly-extending operative clenching position, the carrier arm may lie substantially horizontal, and it maybe arranged to move back through an angle of greater than 90, for example 135, into its rearwardly-displaced loading position.

In addition to an automatic feed and loading of the pronged devices, presses in accordance with this invention may also have feed means for automatically supplying, in synchronism, a backing plate to the anvil between each clenching operation.

Preferably the feed and loading mechanisms incorporate safety overload devices.

By way of example, a particular embodiment of the invention will be now described in more detail in connection with a clenching press for attaching pronged staple or eye fastening components to parts of wearing apparel, such as the waistbands of trousers and skirts, for co-operation with a hook component.

In the accompanying drawings,

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal section of the clenching press of said embodiment;

FIGURE la is a perspective View showing the kind of staple or eye fastening components, and associated backing plates, with which the press is intended to be used;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view showing the clenching head and operating parts;

3,Z3?,832 Patented Mar. 1', 1966 FIGURE 3 is a vertical section on line IIIIII of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of the press;

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal section viewed in the opposite direction to FIGURE 1, showing some of the actuating parts of a backing plate feed mechanism;

FIGURE 6 is a front elevation of the press;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view on line VIIVII of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view on line XIII-XIII of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of a pronged hook fastening component and associated backing plate;

FIGURE 10 is a plan view of the delivery channel of the press modified to suit the hook component of FIG- URE 9;

FIGURE 11 is a section on line XI-XI of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 12 is a plan view of a portion of the backing plate feed channel modified to suit hook component backing plates as shown in FIGURE 9; and

FIGURE 13 is a sectional view on line XIIIXIII of FIGURE 12.

Referring first to FIGURE 1a of the drawing, it will be seen that the staple or eye fastening component 1 comprise a sheet-metal bar 3 having a depending shouldered prong 2 at each end and in the attachment to the garment material, the prongs 2 are passed through the material and through apertures 4 in the complementary sheet-metal backing plate 5 positioned on the underside against which they are bent over or clenched in known manner.

The press to be described, with reference to the drawings, is designed not only to carry out the attachment operation but also to provide an automatic feed'of both the staple or eye components 1 and the backing plates 5 so that no loading of the machine is necessary by the operator between each individual operation.

In effecting an attachment operation, the garment material is laid over an anvil on which a backing plate 5 is positioned, and by means of is pivoted carrier arm the staple or eye component 1 is brought into position over the anvil and is driven downwards so that its prongs 2 penetrate the material and backing plate apertures 4 and are clenched over by clenching'surfaces of the anvil.

In the drawings, the anvil is indicated generally by the reference 6 and the carrier arm by the reference 7. In the operative clenching position, this carrier arm 7 extends forwardly and substantially horizontally, as indicated in broken lines in FIGURE 1, but after each attachment operation it swings back through an angle of approximately 135 to a rear loading position (shown in full lines in FIG. 1) so that the working space above the anvil 6 is normally clear and unobstructed.

The backing plates 5 are substantially rectangular in shape and are fed directly to the anvil 6 from a suitable storage magazine, indicated at 8 whilst the staples or eye components 1 are fed to, and inserted or loaded successively in, a holder 9 in the carrier arm 7 whilst the latter is in its aforesaid rear loading position.

The feed operations and clenching operation of the press are conveniently synchronised and controlled from a common cam shaft 10 which is adapted to be power driven.

The press comprises a base frame 11 in the form of a hollow box-like casting having a fiat top 12 and parallel rectangular side walls 13, '13, carrying integral feet or lugs 14 for securing to a work bench. The flat top 12' carries, towards the front edge thereof, the anvil 6 which consists of a hardened steel plate formed in its top surf-ace with a recess 16 for positioning or locating a backing plate, together with inclined clenching surfaces 17 for clenching over the prongs 2 of the staples 1.

Set back to the rear of the anvil 6, the top 12 of the base frame is formed with a large rectangular aperture 18 which accommodates the pivoted carrier arm mounting and operating levers, and towards the rear, on either side of the said aperture, are two large upstanding rectangular pillars 19, 19, which are spaced apart laterally to provide a vertical slot 20 between their opposed faces which accommodates the pivoted carrier arm 7 when the latter is in its rear loading positon. The front portions of the opposing faces of these pillars 19, 19', are also recessed to form a cavity 22 flush with the sides of the aperture 18 in the top of the base frame for accommodating part of the mounting and operating mechanism of the carrier arm.

The common cam shaft 10 controlling the operation of the press extends transversely across the lower part of the base frame 11, being mounted in journal bearings 23, 23, in the side walls 13, 13, of the latter, and as shown in FIGURE 6, it carries within the interior of the base frame, three cams 25, 26, 27, of which two (-25, 26) control the respective loading and feed mechanism for the staples and for the backing plates, and the third (27) controls the actuation of the carrier arm 7 for carrying out the clenching operation.

The carrier arm 7 itself comprises a main bar 30 which is pivoted on a cross-shaft 31 at its inner end,,for angular movement in a vertical plane, between a pair of side plates 32, 32, fixed to the base frame 11, these side plates 32, 32, projecting through the aperture 18 in theftop of the latter.

Adjacent its outer end, this main bar 30 of the carrier arm is provided with the holder 9 on its underside for receiving and holding one of the pronged staples 1 with the prongs 2 thereof presented outwardly. This workpiece holder 9 is conveniently formed by a rectangular re cess dimensioned to accommodate a staple 1 and open along one side to enable the staple to be inserted laterally. As seen in FIGURE :1, a sliding peg 35 biassed by a blade spring 36 projects slightly into the recess from the outer end wall so as to engage a staple therein and exert a light frictional retaining pressure. p

The carrier arm 7 is spring loaded by extension springs 38, 38, connected as hereinafter described so that it normally takes up its rear loading position in which it slopes upwardly and rearwardly in the slot 20 between the pair of pillars19, 19, thereby leaving the space above and I around the anvil 6 clear and unobstructed. The staples 1 are laoded into the holder 9 whilst the carrier arm 7 is in this rear position but in clenching operation, the carrier arm swings forward and down ino a substantially horizontal position as previously mentioned in which the staple holder 9 is directly above the anvil 6. The staple 1 contained therein is then ejected by being driven downwards, which action causes the prongs 2 to penetrate through material laid over the anvil 6, the prongs then passing through the apertures 4 in the backing plates 5 and being clenched over by the inclined clenching surfaces. The latter operation is accomplished by an ejector plunger 40 (see especially FIG. 3) slidably mounted in a rectangular slot 41 passing through the outer end of the main bar 30 of the carrier arm into the recess of the holder 9, the upper end of the ejector plunger 40 being pivotally coupled at 42 to a pressure lever 43 carried by the main bar 30 which is actuated at the end of the forward stroke of the carrier arm. FIGURE 2 illustrates in full lines the carrier arm and operating parts immediately before actuation of the pressure lever 43, and the latter together with the ejector plunger, is shown in broken lines in their position at the end of the clenching operation.

The movement of the ejector plunger 40 is limited by a cross pin 45 in the carrier arm main bar 30 which engages a slot 46 in the plunger, but in its normal raised position as shown clearly in FIG. 3, the cross pin 45 engages the lower end of this slot 46 and the lower end of the p1unger40 lies flush with, and forms part of the base of the recess of the holder 9.

The pressure lever 43 lies above the main bar 30 of the carrier arm (in the operative clenching position), in spaced parallel relation thereto, and it is arranged to pivot about a fulcrum formed by a roller 48 (see FIG. 1) interposed between its inner end and the inner end of the carrier arm main bar. The inner end of the pressure lever '43 is maintained in contact with the fulcrum roller 48 by a spring 49 carried on an adjustable set screw 50 mounted on the carrier arm main bar, and the outer end of the pressure lever is urged away from the carrier arm main bar by an interposed compression spring '51 so that the ejector plunger 40 is normally maintained in its raised position.

The carrier arm 7 is arranged to be actuated by the clenching cam 27 on the common cam shaft 10 through a lever and linkage system. The clenching cam 27 is eng-aged by a cylindrical cam follower 53 carried between opposed ends of a pair of parallel, spaced-apart levers 54, 54 of inverted V-sha-pe which are pivoted at their other ends on a forwardly-positioned cross shaft 55 mounted on the side plates 32 between which the carrier arm 7 is pivoted. These V-shaped levers 54, 54, are positioned one at each side of the carrier arm 7 and are coupled to the latter by a pair of singularly-movable connecting links 56, 56, the one end of these connecting links 56, 56 being pivotally connected by pivot pins 57 to the respective V-shaped levers 54 adjacent the apex portions of the latter and the other ends of these connecting links are piovtally connected to the carrier arm 7 by a common pivot pin 58 engaged in a transverse slot 59 in the carrier arm main bar 30. This common pivot pin '58 also carries a second pair of short links 60, 60, which are pivotally connected at their upper ends to a cross pin 61 on the pressure lever 43 at an intermediate position along the length of the latter.

This lever and linkage system is such that on the inverted V-shaped levers 54, 54 being rocked by the clenching cam 27, the carrier arm 7 swings forwardly from its normal rear loading position until movement of the main bar 30 thereof is arrested by its outer end being brought down onto the anvil 6. Further movement of the V-shaped levers 54, 54, transmitted to the connecting links 56, 56, then moves the common pivot pin 58 of the latter down in the slot 59 of the carrier arm main bar 30, and movement is thereby transmitted through the second pair of links 60, 60, to the pressure lever 43 which is rocked downwards relatively to the carrier arm main bar, against the biassing compression spring 51, so that the ejector plunger 40 is caused to descend, thereby driving the staple 1 out of the holder 9 and effecting the clenching operation. At the end of the operative stroke of the press, the carrier arm 7 is returned to its rear loading position by the springs 38, 38, which are anchored at opposite ends to a fixed cross-shaft 64 of the base frame 11 and to pins 65 on the V-shaped operating lever 54 respectfully.

The cylindrical cam follower 53 which engages the clenching cam 27 is formed by a sleeve 67 covering a cylindrical bush 68 carried between the opposed ends of the V-shaped operating levers 54, 54, by a screw-threaded shaft 69 which passes through an eccentric bore of the bush 68. (See FIGURE 1.) -Clamping nuts 70, 70, on the ends of this shaft 69 enable the bush 68 to be clamped between the levers 54, 54, in any pre-set angular position, and by altering this angular position, the stroke of the carrier arm 7 can be varied. Apertures (not shown) in the side wall 13 of the base frame conveniently give access to the clamping nuts 70, 70, for carrying out this adjustment during use.

Automatic loading of the pronged staples 1 into the. holder 9 of the carrier arm 7 when the latter is in its. rear loading position is effected by a reciprocatable loading feed slide 72 slidably mounted in a guideway 733 extending laterally, in alignment with the; carrier arm holder 9.

This guideway 73 is formed by a channel in a sloping front face of a block 75 secured on the top face of one of the rectangular pillars 19 and the staples 1 enter into this guideway 73 with their prongs 2 directed upwards and outwards from a rearwardly-extending delivery channel 76 supplied by a continuous feeding device external to the press. After each staple 1 enters the guideway 73, prior to the next clenching operation of the press, the staple loading feed slide 72 moves across (shown in a mid-way position in FIGURE 4) and pushes the staple laterally into the carrier arm holder 9 through the open side of the latter. In so doing, the feed slide 72 closes the end of the delivery channel 76 so that another staple cannot enter into the guideway 73 until the slide 72 is retracted on completion of the loading operation.

The staple loading feed slide 72 comprises a T-sectioned bar of which the head part is confined within the guideway 73 by a pair of overlapping guide plates 78, 78, an extension 79 of said head part having a bevelled end which engages the staples 1 emerging from the channel 76.

The operation of the staple loading feed slide 72 is controlled by the cam 25 which is arranged to impart an oscillation to a vertical shaft 80 passing upwardly through both the base frame 11 and the pillar 19 carry ing the block 75, the top end of this vertical shaft 80 being operatively connected through a pair of springcoupled cam discs 81, 82 to the slide 72.

The pair of spring-coupled cam discs 81, 82, forms a convenient overload safety device preventing damage in the event of an obstruction or jamming in the loading of the staples. The upper cam disc 81 is fast upon the vertical shaft 81 and the lower cam disc 82 is journalled freely upon said shaft and carries a fixed projecting slide-actuating pin 83 whose outer end is confined, by a-djustable set screws 84, in a slot 85 in the projecting central limb part 86 of the T-sectioned bar of the feed slide 72.

The two cam discs 81 and 82 are in face-t0-face contact. The upper face of the lower disc 82 has an arcuate recess 88 (see FIGURE 7) housing a compression spring 89 which is engaged by a depending pin 90 fixed to the upper disc 81 so as to couple together the two discs, the spring-loading being such that the freely-journalled disc 82 will normally move angularly together with the fast disc 81 on oscillation of the shaft 80 and thereby cause the slide 72 to be reciprocated in the guideway 73 and to effect the loading of a staple into the carrier arrn holder 9. tion causing an increased resistance, however, the spring loading will be overcome and the fast disc 81 will move relatively to the freely-iournalled disc 82 and no feed or loading will take place.

The lower end of the vertical shaft 80 is journalled in an inwardly-projecting integral bracket 92 of the adjacent side wall 13 of the base frame, and the oscillatory movement of the shaft is controlled in the one direction by the cam 25 engaging a co-operating cam 93 on the lower end portion of the vertical shaft 38 and in the other direction by the cam 25 engaging a cam lever 94 pivotally mounted upon said adjacent side wall 13 of the base frame and coupled to the abovementioned co-operating cam 93 through a connecting rod 95.

The continuous feeding device by which the staples are supplied to the delivery channel 76 forms no part of the present invention, and any suitable device designed to provide a feed flow of the workpieces under a light feed press may be employed. Although this may be a magazine type of device, another form of device which has been found satisfactory utilizes a vibrator drum, that is, a hollow drum having a base part which is vibrated through electro-rnagnetic means so as to impart a unidirectional movement about the vertical axis of the drum to small objects placed thereon. The movement of the In the event of an obstruc- 6 objects is constrained by the upstanding side wall of the drum and such devices are well known for use in sorting and feeding small objects, such as nuts and bolts for example.

Although not illustrated it may be useful to outline briefly the manner in which such a vibrator drum device may be adapted for feeding the pr-onged staples in the present case. Around the interior surface of the drum side wall, a spiral guide track or ramp is provided which leads upwards from the vibrating base to the upper periphery, this track or ramp being of gradually decreasing Width. Staples placed in the drum then automatically arrange themselves around the side wall and become fed upwards along the inclined guide track under a light forwards pressure. In so doing, the staples become correctly orientated in line, with their prongs presented upwards, although any staples which do not orientate themselves, by reason of a dimensional defect or otherwise, will normally be displaced and will fall back to the base of the drum before they reach the top of the narrowing track. Close to the top outlet end, the width of the track or ramp is narrowed to substantially the same width as the bar (3) of the staples, and a gate formed by aprojection or guard above the track or ramp finally ensures that no staples are passed on which are not correctly orientated.

The top outlet end itself of the track or ramp may be joined to the delivery channel 76 of the press by a connecting bridge channel along which the end-to-end line of staples is fed. In normal use, it will be understood that the actual forwards movement of the staples is only intermittent, occurring after each loading of the carrier arm 7 when the guideway 73 of the loading means is cleared. The staples in the feed delivery channel 76, however, are under a continuous light forwards feeding pressure between each forward movement.

The magazine 8 in which the backing plates 5 are stored is in the form of a hollow vertical column towards the rear of the base frame 11 and it supplies the backing plates by gravity to a feed channel 97 directly below its open lower end. This feed channel 97 is formed by a shallow groove of the same width as the 'backing plates in the top face of a rectangular sectioned feed channel bar 96 which extends from a point to the rear of the storage magazine 8 forwardly, under the carrier arm 7 and to the anvil 6. Forwards of the storage magazine 8, the feed channel 97 is bridged along its length by an overlaying cover plate 98 so that it is enclosed and its open front end is in alignment with the recess 16 of the anvil 6 so that the backing plates 5 emerging therefrom pass directly onto the anvil and drop into position over the clenching surfaces 17.

The backing plates 5 are fed forward in the feed channel 97 by a reciprocatable feed slide 99 actuated by the backing plate feed cam 26 of the camshaft 10. This feed slide 99 comprises a blade-like rectangular feed plate 100 slidably fitted in the rear part of the feed channel 97 behind the storage magazine 8. The feed plate 100 is carried by a carrier block 101 the main body of which lies below the feed channel bar 96 and is directly coupled by a link 1432 (see FIGURE 5) to a cam lever 103 which is engaged by the backing plate feed cam 26, and an elongated upstanding spigot portion 191a of the carrier block fits in a longitudinal guide slot 104 in the feed channel bar 96. The rear part of the feed plate 100 is fixed to the top of this spigot portion 101a of the carrier block by an overlaying screw-attached clamping plate 105'.

The link 102 to the cam lever 103 is coupled to the carrier block 101 by a transverse pin or bolt 107 engaging in a longitudinal transverse slot 108 as indicated in FIGURE 1, the position of this pin or bolt 107 in the slot being located by a pair of opposed adjustable set screws 109, 109, by means of which the setting of the feed device can be varied.

The feed slide 99 is normally held in a retracted position by a compression spring 111 carried on a plungerrod 112 fast with the carrier block 101, the free-end of this plunger rod 112 being slidably engaged in a aperture 113 in a bracket 114 fixed to the base frame 11. The feed device is set so that in this normal retracted position, the forward edge of the feed plate 100 lies just behind the open lower end of the storage magazine 8 so that when the device is actuated, the feed plate 100 is moved forwards to push the backing plates along the channel 97, the effective feed distance of each stroke being equal to the length of the backing plates.

The cam lever 103 which is engaged by the backing plate feed cam 26 is coupled to the connecting link 102 through a spring 115 whereby relative movement can take place in the event of a high resistance occurring in the movement of the feed slide 99, such as when there is an obstruction or jamming of the backing plates. This permitted relative movement forms an overload safety device so that no damage occurs under these conditions.

The coupling between the cam lever 103 and the connecting link 102 comprises a pivot pin 116 'on the lever which passes through a slot 117 in the link and carries a small block 118 in which is mounted a plunger rod 120 whose outer end is slidably engaged in an aperture of an integral lug 121 at the forward end of the connecting link 102, this plunger rod 120 carrying the compression spring 115 which acts between the block 118 and the lug 121. The strength of this spring 115 is such that under normal feed operating conditions, the link 102 follows the movement of the cam lever 103.

Drive to the common camshaft of the press is conveniently supplied from any suitable motor through the pulley 124 which is coupled to the camshaft through a conventional clutch 125. A handwheel 126 is also provided for manual operation, as for when the machine is being adjusted for example.

The clamping plate (not illustrated) for holding the garment material in position over the anvil 6 during the attachment operations may also be provided. Such a clamping plate is conveniently pivotally mounted and may be controlled through an appropriate linkage by a foot treadle mechanism.

The backing plate magazine 8 may also be associated with a safety device operative to stop the machine when the supply of backing plates is used up, this safety device taking the form of a switch (not shown) having an actuating lever arranged so as to be contacted by a projection of a loose index plate or member placed on top of the pile of staples within the magazine when said index plate or member reaches the bottom of the magazine. The switch is then operated to cause the drive motor of the machine to be stopped.

In operation, after positioning the garment material over the anvil 6 which already has a backing plate 5 in position, with the carrier arm 7 in its initial rearward position and already loaded with a staple 1 as shown in FIGURE 5, the clutch 125 is engaged to rotate the camshaft 10 in a clockwise direction (as viewed in FIG- URE 5). The cam 27 then rotates the lever 24 which acts through the link 56 to swing the carrier arm forwards and down on to the garment material which is reached immediately before the follower 53 is engaged by the high point of cam 27. Continued rotation of lever 24, up to engagement of the high point of cam 27 then acts through link 56 and link 60* to depress the pressure lever 43 and cause the ejector plunger 40 to drive out the staple 1, the prongs of the staple being forced through the garment material and clenched over by anvil 6. On further movement of cam 27, the carrier arm 7 is returned to its rear loading position by return spring 38 acting on lever 34.

While cam 27 causes the carrier arm to swing forward and the ejector plunger to be operated, the cam 25 acting on lever 94 causes rotation of shaft 80 which retracts feed slide 72 to enable a further staple to enter guideway 73. On the return movement of carrier arm 7, cam 25 engages cam 93 to rotate shaft 80 in the opposite direction,

thereby causing the feed slide 72 to load a further staple into the holder 9, ready for the next operation. At the same time, cam 26 acts on lever 103 which actuates the feed slide 99 through link 102 to cause a further backing plate 5 to be fed forward on to the anvil 6, and the whole cycle is complete after one revolution of the camshaft 10.

Clenching presses in accordance with this invention may be similarly designed for attaching pronged garment hook fasteners. For example, the press described may readily be adapted for attaching pronged sheet-metal hook fasteners of the kind illustrated in FIGURE 9 which comprise a hook tongue joined by a cranked part 131 to a short integral base plate 132 provided with a pair of prongs 133 along each side edge. The associated backing plate 135 is substantially rectangular with a pair of elongated slots 136 towards in a ribbed end portion thereof for receiving the prongs 133.

The main modifications in the press described which may be required for accommodating this hook device, apart from necessary dimensional alterations, concern the delivery feed channel 76, the backing plate feed channel 97, and the anvil 6. As shown in FIGURE 10 and 11, the modification to the delivery feed channel 76 may comprise the addition of a top retaining plate 140 to overlie the tongue portions 130 of the hooks. Modification to the backing plate feed channel may comprise the replacement of the cover plate 98 by a pair of spaced guide plates 142, 143, as illustrated in FIGURE 12 and 13, to accommodate the ribbed end portion of the backing plate 135.

Presses in accordance with this invention may also be designed to effect the simultaneous attachment of two or more spaced pronged workpieces, the carrier arm then being provided with a plurality of spaced workpiece holders each with its own associated automatic loading means.

Thus, the carrier arm may have a pair of laterallyspaced pronged workpiece holders, each similar to that already described, adapted to be loaded from two similar sets of loading means positioned at opposite sides of the carrier arm when the latter is in its rearwardly-displaced loading position, a pair of spaced anvils being provided for co-operating with the said two workpiece holders with this arrangement, the carrier arm may conveniently have a T-shaped form with the pronged workpiece holders at opposite ends of the cross-head of the T, the arm being pivotally mounted on its central limb as hereinbefore described, and the ejector plungers associated with the two workpiece holders may be coupled to a common pressure lever extending along the central limb.

I claim:

1. A clenching press for attaching pronged workpieces to flexible material comprising, in combination, anvil means for clenching the prongs of the pronged workpieces, a carrier arm pivotally mounted for angular displacement of over 90 in a vertical plane between a forwardly-extending operative clenching position above said anvil means and a rearwardly-directed loading position, pronged workpiece holder means carried by said carrier arm, means for actuating the carrier arm to swing it forwardly and down during its clenching stroke from said loading position to the operative clenching position in which a workpiece in said workpiece holder means is brought into engagement with said anvil means, loading means for loading automatically from a continuous supply of the pronged workpieces said workpiece holder means of the carrier arm between each clenching operation while the carrier arm is in said loading position, and means for operating said loading means in synchronism with the clenching strokes of the carrier arm, whereby the carrier arm actuating means includes a drive shaft, a cam carried by said drive shaft, and a co-operating eccentrically mounted cam follower operatively connected to said carrier arm, the eccentric mounting of said cam follower being adjustable to enable the stroke of the carrier arm to be varied.

2. A clenching press for attaching pronged workpieces to flexible material comprising, in combination, anvil means for clenching the prongs of the pronged workpieces, a carrier arm pivotally mounted for angular displacement of over 90 in a vertical plane between a for weirdly-extending operative clenching position above said anvil means and a rearwardly-directed loading position, pronged workpiece holder means carried by said carrier arm, means for actuating the carrier arm to swing it forwardly and down during its clenching stroke from said loading position to the operative clenching position in which a workpiece in said workpiece holder means is brought into engagement with said anvil means, loading means for loading automatically from a continuous supply of the pronged workpieces said workpiece holder means of the carrier arm between each clenching operation while the carrier arm is in said loading position, and means for operating said loading means in synchronism with the clenching strokes of the carrier arm, wherein the pronged workpiece holder means comprises a recess in the carrier arm which opens downwardly towards the anvil means when the arm is in its forwardly-extending operative position and opens upwardly when the arm is in its rear loading position, a side opening to said recess being provided through which the workpieces are passed in loading.

3. A clenching press for attaching devices each consisting of a pronged eye component and a backing plate, to garment material, said clenching press comprising a stationary frame member, an arm pivoted to said frame member for angular movement in a vertical plane between a forwardly extending clenching position and a rearwardly extending loading position, said arm comprising a holder for said pronged eye components, said holder having a recess located at the end of said arm and presented downwardly in the clenching position and upwardly in the loading position, an anvil, said holder being located over said anvil in said clenching position, said anvil cooperating with said holder to effect the clenching operation, a drive, means actuated by said drive and actuating said arm for moving it from said loading position to said clenching position and returning it to said clenching position upon completion of the clenching operation, means actuated by said drive for automatically supplying in synchronism a backing plate to the anvil between each clenching operation, a block located adjacent said arm in its loading position and having a rearwardly extending feed channel adapted to receive said pronged eye components, a transversely extending feed channel communicating with the first-mentioned feed channel and adapted to receive said pronged eye components one at a time, a reciprocable feed slide adapted to feed each pronged eye component from the second-mentioned feed channel and through a side opening formed in said arm into the recess of said holder when said arm is in its loading position, and means actuated by said drive and actuating said slide in synchronism with the movements of said arm, the pronged eye components lying with their prongs directed upwardly throughout the feed and loading operation.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,760,194 8/1956 Wood 1-325 X 3,069,688 -12/ 1962 Heil 1-325 FOREIGN PATENTS 709,278 5/ 1954- Great Britian.

541,944 4/ 1956 Italy.

GRANVILLE Y. CUSTER, .TR., Primary Examiner. 

1. A CLENCHING PRESS FOR ATTACHING PRONGED WORKPIECES TO FLEXIBLE MATERIAL COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, ANVIL MEANS FOR CLENCHING THE PRONGS OF THE PRONGED WORKPIECES, A CARRIER ARM PIVOTALLY MOUNTED FOR ANGULAR DISPLACEMENT OF OVER 90* IN A VERTICAL PLANE BETWEEN A FORWARDLY-EXTENDING OPERATIVE CLENCHING POSITION ABOVE SAID ANVIL MEANS AND A REARWARDLY-DIRECTED LOADING POSITION, PRONGED WORKPIECE HOLDER MEANS CARRIED BY SAID CARRIER ARM, MEANS FOR ACTUATING THE CARRIER ARM TO SWING IT FORWARDLY AND DOWN DURING ITS CLENCHING STROKE FROM SAID LOADING POSITION TO THE OPERATIVE CLENCHING POSITION IN WHICH A WORKPIECE IN SAID WORKPIECE HOLDER MEANS IS BROUGHT INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID ANVIL MEANS, LOADING MEANS FOR LOADING AUTOMATICALLY FROM A CONTINUOUS SUPPLY OF THE PRONGED WORKPIECES SAID WORKPIECE HOLDER MEANSA OF THE CARRIER ARM BETWEEN EACH CLENCHING OPERATION WHILE THE CARRIER ARM IS IN SAID LOADING POSITON, AND MEANS FOR OPERATING 